


Cardiac Event

by MechBull



Category: The Red Line (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:46:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechBull/pseuds/MechBull
Summary: AU - Only Liam Bhatt would try to pick up a guy on the train and end up in the ER.Probably high Mature, but rated Explicit to be safe.
Relationships: Liam Bhatt/Daniel Calder
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

“Welcome, Jira.”

The teacher – Mr. Bhatt – smiled at her in greeting. He sat on the edge of his desk, one foot on the ground. It was the first period of Jira’s first day at her new high school, but thankfully she was only a week or so behind due to some unfortunate delays in getting back to Chicago when they planned. She nodded at him, then looked out at the room. The students in the class all faced her with varying expressions of curiosity and disinterest. 

“There’s an open seat in the second row there, next to Riley.”

A kid waved at her, and Jira started walking toward the desk Mr. Bhatt had pointed out. He waited long enough for her to sit down and for the school secretary who had escorted her there to leave the room. 

“Want to tell us a bit about yourself? Did you just move to Chicago?”

“Ah, sort of,” Jira said, inwardly steeling herself for having to go through this every hour. She didn’t mind talking in class, but being the center of attention was never fun. “I grew up here, but my dad and I have spent the last two years in Africa. He was working for Doctors without Borders.”

“Very cool,” Mr. Bhatt said. “You’ll have to tell us more about your experiences. But for now – the Great Gatsby. You can share with Riley until we get you a copy.”

Jira nodded, trying not to groan. At least Lit was her first class, so she’d get it out of the way right away. Mr. Bhatt seemed cool enough, but still. 

The rest of the day went pretty much as she expected – the school was just small enough for people to stare at the new kid and just big enough where the teachers didn’t make too much of a fuss after introducing her. Several students seemed OK – Riley, for one – while others were not so much – that Kalen girl was pretty pushy, for example. 

But she made it through the day. With a sigh, Jira closed her locker door, hoisted her backpack higher up on her shoulder and headed toward the front door. Her dad had instructed her to go straight to the new house after school, but she kind of wanted to stop off at the hospital to see how it had changed in the years they’d been gone.

She blinked sudden tears away at the reminder that their lives were entirely different now. A few years ago, things were great, or so she thought. She and her dads were living in a cozy little house with a tiny backyard just big enough for a swing set when she was little. Sure, back then, she didn’t get to just hang out with either of them as much as she would have liked, but that could only be expected when one was a surgeon and the other was an ER doc. Little did she know that not seeing each other much was a struggle for them as well. 

She and her dad both learned of the affair around the same time. They had needed some explanation, after all, for why her other dad had been in that random bar when they thought he was working. As painful as the explanation was, it made some sort of sense.

There was never a good explanation for why a drunk off-duty cop shot the place up. 

They had both needed something new and different after that. They had both needed to run away and to do good to remind themselves the world wasn’t all horrible. The clinic in Africa had been perfect. Her dad had specifically chosen a place that was safe and that had a school for her, but was also in need enough to remind them both to be thankful for what they had and thankful that they were able to help. The plan had been six months, but before they really knew it, years had passed and the hospital put its foot down about extending his leave any longer. 

So now they were back, in a new part of town and a new house, still close enough for her dad to get to the hospital easily enough. In the week or so that they’d been home, a lot of things had come back for them both. They’d work through it, though. She knew that. Their time in Africa had been good for them, strengthening their relationship and helping them heal. Now it was time for them to move on with their “real” lives. 

“Hi Jira, how was your day?”

She jumped in surprise, realizing she had somehow made it outside while lost in thought. She looked up to the side, to see who had talked to her. 

“Hi Mr. Bhatt,” she replied. “It was fine.”

“Getting settled in?”

“I think so.”

“Well, let me know if I can help with anything.”

Jira nodded, but didn’t really know what else to say in response. He seemed nice, though. And…still walking in the same direction as her. She glanced at him, feeling kind of awkward.

“Going to the L stop?” she asked, hoping he’d say no. Making small talk with teachers was the worst, even when she knew them fairly well, which was obviously not the case here.

But he nodded, so Jira tried to hide her reaction. It wasn’t so bad, though. He asked her a couple questions about Africa, which got them through the short walk and the wait for the train. And then several more questions about Jira’s other classes lasted the rest of the ride. Jira hid a sigh of relief as the train started to slow down, and she stood, repositioning her backpack. 

“This is your stop?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Well, no, we live a couple more stops down, but this is the closest one to the hospital where my dad works. I’m going to say hi.”

“Have a good night.”

“You too, Mr. Bhatt.” 

Jira hurried off the train, but then turned for some reason. As the door closed, she watched him through the window. He pulled a book out of his bag, and she wondered if he had a long ride to go or if he was just one of those weirdos who read whenever they had a free minute or two. Probably the latter, considering his job. And then, just before the train pulled away again, he looked up and caught her eye. He furrowed his brow in apparent confusion, even as he flashed her another smile. Jira cringed and turned away, embarrassed that he’d caught her watching him. She hoped he wouldn’t say anything about it, because she still wasn’t quite sure why she was curious about him. Because he was nice, she guessed.

**

“Oh, come on. You’re telling me that you didn’t have any sort of ‘jungle fling’? I’m sure there were lots of single do-gooders there who were more than interested in sharing a cot. I know how those places work.”

“We weren’t in the _jungle_ , Dave. It was a town with an understaffed clinic. Practically like home.”

“Still,” Dave continued. “ _No one?_ ”

“I wasn’t there to sleep around. My daughter was with me, remember? We went there because my husband died?”

“What a waste of a perfectly good opportunity. And your balls must be so damn blue by – ”

“I’m going to take the rule-out MI in Exam 2,” Daniel cut him off. “I suggest you grab your next case, too.”

“You’re avoiding the conversation, now.”

“It wasn’t actually a _suggestion_ ,” Daniel clarified, even as he pushed away from the desk and headed down the hall.

There were a lot of things about this damn ER that he’d missed in the last couple years. Dave hadn’t been one of them. Daniel’s nose wrinkled as he passed two patients waiting in the halls who reeked of alcohol. That was another thing he hadn’t missed. 

But Dave wasn’t entirely wrong. Because deep down, he had to admit one thing he _was_ missing was…physical affection. It had been a long damn time since he’d touched another man in a non-clinical way. 

He and Jira had gone through a long and painful healing process in Africa, and it had also been rewarding, bringing them closer together than ever before. It didn’t even really occur to him until they returned to Chicago, though, that part of that recovery had been about getting himself ready to move on, maybe find someone new. And he didn’t know if he and Jira were in a good enough place yet for him to ask her what she thought about that.

Truthfully, he shouldn’t even be thinking about it himself. Although he knew intellectually that Harrison’s affair had been _Harrison’s_ fault, he still didn’t fully accept it. Because he knew he was hardly the ideal partner, and he didn’t know if he wanted to risk making someone that unhappy again. He worked too many hours, at all hours of the day and night. Which also meant he had missed so much of Jira’s life, too. He loved her and had wanted her so badly, but it was Harrison – who had a far more normal and stable schedule as a surgeon – who was there for her most of the time. Hell, Africa had been about actually getting to know her a bit too. She had grown up without him really knowing it. 

So, to sum up, his priorities were Jira and work and shamefully not always in that order, and between those two, there was no way he could be a good partner to someone new.

On the other hand, he hadn’t had sex in over two years so…there was that. Daniel sighed and ran a hand down his face. He pushed open the door to the exam room and lifted the chart to glance at it.

“Mr. Thompson, how are you feeling?”

He went through the exam, checking off step by step until he could conclude that Mr. Thompson was, in fact, not suffering from a heart attack. Rather, he was suffering through some serious indigestion. Daniel shook his head as he left the exam room. But he pretty much forgot all about the case when he made it back to the triage desk and spotted Jira talking to some of the nurses she had known basically all her life. 

“Hey!”

She turned to face him, grinning and stepping closer to hug him.

“How was your first day back?” he asked, even as he pecked her forehead. 

“Great,” she replied. 

“Like your teachers and your classes?”

“Absolutely.”

He glanced at his watch. He could take a break, which he communicated to the head nurse with a tilt of his head before focusing on Jira again.

“Come to the cafeteria with me. I’ll buy you dinner and you can tell me all about it.”

“Ooh, hospital food. My favorite.”

Daniel grinned, leading Jira down the hall.

**

Liam stretched out a kink in his neck before moving onto the next notebook in the pile. When he opened it, he guessed immediately it was Jira’s before even seeing her name. Because she hadn’t had the assignment over the summer, the content of her journal was shorter than the others and consisted of only a couple entries so far. He often gave prompts if the students couldn’t think of anything to write about, and the last time, he suggested writing about their families. Liam leaned back in his chair, preparing to read what she had to say. All he knew so far, after all, was that her dad was a doctor.

But Jira didn’t write about him. She wrote about her mother. 

_I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot lately. Ever since everything happened and especially since we got back from Africa, she’s been on my mind more. I wonder what she’s like now, and what she would think about me, and what she thought of my dad, back when they first met. I want to know why she chose him. I want to ask her about her life and where I come from. I want to ask her for advice about growing up into an adult, a woman, a Black woman._

_But I can’t ask her all that. I can’t go find her by myself. I can’t even ask my dad about her. I know it would hurt him, make him feel less than, somehow, like he can’t be what I need and isn’t who I want. It took us too long to get where we are now, but we’re so good. So much better than I thought would be possible even just a couple years ago._

_I can’t stop imagining her, though._

Liam stared at the writing for a moment before scratching a check mark in the corner. Poor kid, he thought. He wondered if it was a nasty divorce or if her mother had abandoned them or something. At any rate, it didn’t surprise him anymore that she only ever seemed to mention her dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Fine. One more story. And maybe one more after this one. AND THEN I AM DONE. I MEAN IT.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel caught a glimpse of the clock on the microwave and did a double take, then sighed. He needed to leave right then if he wanted to catch the L without running. Holding his tie to his stomach with one hand, he bent over the sink, drinking the last of his coffee a bit too fast. He rinsed out the mug and put it down. 

On his way out of the kitchen, he nearly ran into Jira. They both turned, angling past each other, and he kissed the top of her head to say goodbye.

“About time you got out of bed,” he teased.

“Hey, I don’t have to leave here for another hour.”

“Yeah, I probably should have left a few minutes ago.”

“Better get going then.”

“Love you, punchkin. Be careful on the L, and have a good day.”

He barely heard her goodbye as he hurried through the living room. He grabbed his bag off the couch and rushed out the front door. He didn’t quite run, but he definitely walked at a faster than usual pace to the stop and took the steps two at a time. He was a touch out of breath when he slipped through the train doors just as they closed. But karma or something was working in his favor, and there was a seat open along the side.

Daniel dropped down, placing his bag on his lap and breathing deeply to try to calm down. Almost immediately, however, he heard his phone buzz. With a sigh, he pulled it out and saw a message from Jira. At least it wasn’t the hospital.

_Just finished the last of the milk. Should I get some after school?_

Daniel smiled at her thoughtfulness. She had always been willing to do errands and chores with only rare complaints, but particularly since Harrison died, she had made such an effort to help him, often describing their tiny family as a partnership. The two of them against the world. He appreciated it more than he could say, but he also realized he perhaps had been letting her get away with it too much. She was still a kid, and she deserved to be a kid. Especially after so much tragedy. Stopping at the store wasn’t going to kill her, of course, but it also wasn’t necessary.

 _I’ll get some_ , he texted back. _Don’t worry about it. What do you want for dinner tonight?_

She responded almost immediately, with a suggestion of Thai delivery. He agreed, then put his phone away. While he zipped his bag closed again, he sensed a sort of ‘being watched’ feeling and glanced up, looking around.

Across the train, a couple seats to the left, was a damned attractive man, several years younger by the looks of him. Indian, well-dressed, with a smartly groomed beard and a curl of hair falling onto his forehead. As soon as their eyes met, the man looked away, dropping his eyes back to the book in his lap. He lifted a hand and rubbed at his mouth. Daniel watched him for a few more moments, until the other man flicked his eyes back up to look at Daniel again. Embarrassed, Daniel looked away. He scratched at his temple and cleared his throat, feeling vaguely uncomfortable. No, that wasn’t the right word. That sounded too negative. He felt…on edge, but in a good way. 

The man really was attractive.

He did his best not to look at him too often, only giving in once or twice. They never met each other’s gaze again, but judging by the slightly-too-stiff posture and hint of a smile, the man knew he was looking. Considering the blush that had started to rise to his own cheeks, part of Daniel actually hoped that he wasn’t being watched in return. Too soon, the train slowed at the stop closest to the hospital. He stood and waited for the door to open. 

It took everything he had not to glance back over his shoulder as he stepped off the train. Although he won that internal battle, he still spent most of the walk to the hospital wondering if the guy took that particular train every morning.

**

His class notes were laid out on the desk in front of him, but Liam had not really looked at them since he pulled them out of his bag. Ever since the train, his mind had been elsewhere. Specifically, it had been on the man sitting across from him. He had ridden only a few stops, but it was long enough for Liam to get several eyefuls and he took advantage of that.

The guy was a few years older than him and was definitely aging like a fine wine. Almost perfectly Liam’s type. He wondered if he was into men, or if his glancing at Liam was simply in response to Liam checking him out. Not that it mattered, of course. The odds of him seeing the guy again were slim to none. Chicago was a huge city and he rarely saw the same people on the train from one day to the next. Of course, he didn’t really pay attention to them either. Not like he paid attention that day.

Just to be safe, he decided to sit in the same car the next day in the hope that they’d both end up there again. 

Students started to walk through the hallway, and Liam glanced up at the first sounds of people entering the room. It was Matthew and Riley, with Jira a few steps behind them. Liam said good morning, then forced himself to focus. He had to teach now.

**

The next morning, Daniel put perhaps a bit too much effort into picking his outfit. He went with a black suit that he knew looked very good on him. He found himself humming as he tied his tie, and he spent a little extra time making sure his hair looked good, even though he knew it would get blown around during the walk to the L anyway.

“You look nice,” Jira observed from the counter when he walked into the kitchen. She was still in her PJs, curled up on the chair as she ate her cereal. “Too nice for the ER.”

“Thank you. I’m giving a presentation to the 4th years this morning,” he lied, reaching across the counter to grab a banana. “I’ll put on scrubs for my actual shift.”

“Is that all you’re eating?” she asked, making Daniel smile at the gentle nagging. 

“Running late,” he said, although it wasn’t entirely true. He just didn’t want to risk missing the train, and didn’t want to be red, sweaty and puffing from running either. He kissed his fingers at her and waved goodbye. 

All of his efforts were worth it, though, because when he sat down on the train and then subtly looked around, he saw the man again, his legs crossed to serve as a makeshift table for the newspaper in his lap that was open to the crossword. He was in the same seat as the previous day, and Daniel wondered if that had been intentional. It certainly was intentional on his part, after all. 

He also wondered if it was intentional that the other man was looking especially delectable. So damn good, in fact, that he couldn’t drag his eyes away even when the man looked up at him and made eye contact. He lowered his own gaze for a brief second to take in Daniel’s body, and even from across the train, Daniel could see him inhale and briefly press his lips together tighter. 

They stared at each other for two whole stops. At some point, Daniel propped his elbow on the rail next to the seat so he could hold his hand to his face, his index finger resting above his eye, and the knuckle of his middle finger pressing against his cheekbone. He stroked his thumb along his jaw, imagining he was caressing the other man’s skin. 

He wondered if the man knew that he was slowly sliding his pen back and forth between his fingers. It seemed simultaneously unconscious and yet pointedly seductive.

The train slowed again, but Daniel didn’t pay too much attention to it. Just as he was beginning to fear that he’d start to tent his pants pretty soon, he looked up and realized he was at the hospital stop. Cursing inwardly, he stood and pushed past a person standing by the doors to squeeze through just as they closed. He turned and looked back through the window as the train pulled away.

The man was looking at his lap again, for all the world appearing like he was focused on his puzzle. The smile on his face revealed otherwise, however. Daniel couldn’t stop his own grin as he walked to work, thankful for the cool morning air that would calm him down before he had to change in the locker room.

**

In the evening, after dinner, Daniel found Jira sitting on the couch, curled up with a book. This was so unusual that he paused, completely forgetting the task he had been performing.

“Reading for school?” he wondered.

“Yeah,” she murmured, before coming out of her thoughts more. She closed the book, holding her place with one finger and shifted to the side. Daniel sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

“What is it?”

“The Great Gatsby.”

Daniel nodded.

“You read it?”

“Mm-hmm. When I was your age. All I remember is something about a green light.”

“Yeah. Symbolism.”

Her tone made Daniel laugh. “I take it you haven’t suddenly become a fiction fan.”

“No,” Jira said emphatically. “But I am a Mr. Bhatt fan.”

“That’s your English teacher?”

“Yeah. He makes it interesting, at least. I still would prefer to read about something real than something made up. Or at least something not written by a dead white dude. No offense.”

“None taken; I’m not dead.”

Jira rolled her eyes, making him laugh. “Schools really do need to join the 21st century,” Daniel agreed. “Why don’t you do some searches or ask Mr. Bhatt for suggestions and try to find a book that you might actually enjoy? Then you can reward yourself – 10 pages for the class and 10 pages for fun.”

“What’s wrong with doing the surgery simulation as a reward?”

“I would like you to not spend every evening staring at a screen.”

“Fine. I guess.”

Daniel smiled, pulling Jira closer to kiss her forehead. “So, you like Mr. Bhatt. How are your other classes going?”

**

Liam gently rocked back and forth on his feet, half asleep where he stood as he waited for the train. He had woken up much earlier than when his alarm was supposed to go off, almost panicked that he had actually slept through it.

He had been far more worried that he’d missed his train than that he was late for work, though. When he realized the time, he slowly relaxed, and then he used the extra minutes to…think about the upcoming commute. OK, he jacked off to the memory of the guy from the train staring at him. Better to take care of the hard-on in the privacy of his own bed than get one in public, he supposed. 

So, now, he was pleasantly tired but he couldn’t regret how he spent the morning.

He did have to hide his scowl, however, when a shuffling noise prompted him to open his eyes and he saw an elderly Indian woman walk onto the platform pulling a wheeled bag or cart filled with something. He realized that that morning, he wasn’t going to get to enjoy what had quickly become the best part of his day. His parents raised him too well. 

So, when the train arrived, he stepped over and took the cart from the woman, gesturing for her to get on ahead of him. She sat in his usual spot, and he stood next to her, holding onto the cart so it wouldn’t roll or topple. With his other hand, he reached up to grab the overhead bar. If nothing else, he hoped him stretching out would be a tempting view, even if he couldn’t get his own eye candy. 

The woman spoke to him the entire ride, and he did his best to respond in his rather broken and rusty Hindi. He felt his whole body tingling when the train arrived at the man’s stop and then pull away again. A minute or two later, he took the opportunity to glance in the window, and he took some comfort from the fact that the reflection showed the man indeed seemed to be admiring Liam’s body. 

Unfortunately, despite his inner hopes, the woman didn’t get off the train until the same stop as Liam’s new crush. He helped her off, timing it just right so he’d be lifting the cart off the train exactly when the man hit the doors. For a brief moment, they were close enough they could have touched, and he couldn’t stop himself from breathing in. Damn, he smelled good. 

And he somehow became even hotter when he twisted to hold the door as the old woman stepped out. She turned to say goodbye and thank you to Liam as he nodded and stepped back. Liam didn’t return to his seat, though. He stood by the door and watched out the window as the man clearly struggled through a conversation with the woman while reaching out to help with the cart himself. 

Damn it, he was introducing himself tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

After the relatively disappointing commute on Wednesday, Daniel had been hopeful for a better Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the world had other plans, as he spent most of the ride on the phone, answering questions from the nurse on duty who was dealing with one of his troublesome regulars, who had recently discovered Daniel was back in town and so was taking advantage of lost time. Apparently, the homeless old coot wouldn’t accept care from the doctors on duty and wouldn’t wait for him to get in. Normally, it wouldn’t bother Daniel. He quite liked the guy, actually, but damn it, was it too much to ask for five minutes to himself that he could devote to…eye-fucking a fellow passenger?

He finally hung up just before the hospital stop. He pocketed his cell and simultaneously looked up, seeking out his nameless _friend_. The man had apparently been watching and waiting, because he actually took a breath and started to stand. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Daniel realized he was planning to come over to talk to him.

At the exact same time, someone else sat in the seat next to him, coughing and scratching at his side as he settled. Daniel couldn’t help but recoil slightly. He glanced back at the other man again, who had dropped back into his seat. The discouraged frown on his face made Daniel smile, somewhat self-deprecatingly. And then they were at his stop. 

With a barely perceptible nod of goodbye or acknowledgment or something, Daniel stood and walked to the doors.

**

The train was a bit crowded Friday morning. Not packed, but busy enough where both Liam’s regular seat and the other man’s were already taken when he got on. He realized that could be to his advantage. He stood to one side of the aisle close to the door, grabbing onto a rail as the train started to move. There was no way the guy could miss him, assuming he entered the same door he had the last several days.

The closer they got to the guy’s stop, the faster Liam’s heart raced. It clearly had been far too long since his last date, if the prospect of talking to a hot stranger was causing this reaction. He forced himself to breathe slower and let go of the rail for a moment to wipe his hands on his pants. The last thing he needed was a sweaty palm, if they ended up shaking hands. 

At the stop, several teenagers or young adults – far too rowdy for that early in the morning, as far as Liam was concerned – got on first. But then, there he was, behind them. Liam suspected his face didn’t do too much to hide his happiness. Or the downright joy he felt when the guy took the obvious hint and stepped over to grab the rail on the other side of the aisle from Liam. They were barely a foot apart from each other, but it wasn’t close enough. Liam let the motion of the train sway him a bit closer.

“Hi,” he said softly, just loud enough to be heard over the loud talking of the group of kids. It maybe wasn’t the suavest opener, but to be fair, the smile on his face and the heat in his eyes were intended to be much more welcoming than the greeting itself.

It was those signals that the other man was obviously responding to, when he said hi back, letting his gaze drop to Liam’s mouth before looking in his eyes again. He smiled back, the corner of his lower lip hooking under one tooth. Damn, Liam wanted to kiss him. 

Knowing full well that some kind of _haven’t I seen you on this train before?_ line would be laughably disingenuous, he settled for a simple “I’m Liam.”

“Daniel. Nice to meet you.”

Before Liam could respond, the rambunctious jostling of the kids nearby changed, as two of them started throwing punches and wrestling. Unwisely but instinctively, Liam went directly into teacher mode, stepping over to break up the fight. He probably should have realized that these weren’t actually kids and the students at Jane Byrne were incredibly well-behaved and so tended to listen to authority figures. 

Before he knew it, he got punched in the nose which sent him back into a rail behind him. His head knocked against it very hard, hard enough to see lights flash and almost enough to distract from the sudden pain in his arm from where a switchblade sliced into him. 

“Fuck,” he muttered, tasting the blood dripping into his mouth. 

The shouting from others on the train, or Liam’s injuries, must have been enough to spook the fighting group, because they all ran out of the car. Liam was a little too fuzzy to figure out what was going on. All he knew was he was suddenly being forced into a now-open seat and Daniel was kneeling in front of him, although twisting to look over his shoulder.

“No!” he shouted at one of the other passengers who was reaching for the emergency stop handle. “Don’t pull that.”

“But – ”

“Trust me,” he said, in a firm and commanding tone that would have made Liam _feel things_ , if he was able to feel something besides strangely muted pain. 

Liam tried to focus on him, watching as Daniel pulled off his tie and wrapped it around Liam’s arm. He lifted Liam’s other hand and pressed it against the wound. Liam hissed at the sharp sting. 

“Hold that,” Daniel ordered, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. 

He dialed and held it up to his ear, even as he reached his free hand up to lightly touch Liam’s nose. Liam flinched back, and Daniel removed his hand briefly. He held it up in a clear _just relax_ gesture before touching it again. 

“This is Daniel,” he said suddenly into the phone. “There’s been an incident on the train. I’m coming in with a patient with a knife wound to the left upper extremity, a possible broken or dislocated nose, and a rule-out concussion. ETA two or three minutes.”

“Are you a doctor?” Liam wondered.

“Yes, I am,” Daniel confirmed, putting his phone away again. 

“My mom is gonna be thrilled,” Liam observed. Almost immediately, he realized he probably shouldn’t have said that out loud. He furrowed his brow and started to shake his head, only to find out that made him kind of dizzy. Actually, very dizzy. He worried that he was going to puke all over the guy and ruin his chances altogether. 

“OK,” Daniel said, grinning but otherwise not responding to Liam’s comment. “We’re here.”

Liam noticed the train was slowing. Daniel stood, then leaned down to help him up. He wrapped Liam’s uninjured arm over his own shoulders and encouraged him to put most of his weight onto him. They slowly made their way off the train and down the stairs towards the nearby hospital. Liam had never been there before and he looked up at the ambulance sign.

“Not sure this is in my network.”

Daniel laughed. “Don’t worry about that right now. Besides, it’s a county hospital. We take everyone.”

A woman in a nurse’s uniform pushed a wheelchair out the door just as they arrived, and Daniel maneuvered them around to force Liam to sit. He took over from the nurse, pushing him into the hospital. Liam heard them talking to each other, but he didn’t pay too much attention. It sounded far too clinical for him to understand at the moment. He tuned back in when the nurse veered off and Daniel stopped the chair just next to an exam bed. 

He helped him stand and then climb onto the bed. Then, he reached out for one of those paper-thin, scratchy gowns and handed it to Liam, who just let it rest in his lap for the moment. 

“Not really how I imagined undressing for you,” Liam joked, before immediately cringing in embarrassment. “What the hell happened to my filter?” he asked, only to realize he had actually said that too.

Daniel barked a laugh. “Head trauma and blood loss,” he responded. “Don’t worry; I’m not holding it against you. No excuse for whatever made you think stepping into a gang fight was wise, though.”

“I’m a teacher,” he replied. “I break up fights all the time. Although…the students aren’t usually that big. Or have knives.”

Daniel smiled, nodding and _ah_ ing in understanding, then turned professional and clinical again. “Can you get changed by yourself? If not, a nurse will help you and also start filling in your chart. I’m going to drop off my stuff and check in at the front desk, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Liam nodded, watching as Daniel backed away from him. Just before he closed the curtain, he gave Liam one last glance that made him feel a bit fluttery inside.

Well, he wasn’t sure it counted as a meet-cute, but it _was_ one of the more memorable ways he’d met a guy. 

Despite Daniel’s promises, however, he only caught glimpses of him over the next few hours. Things started out fine – a nurse named Abby came around and took his history, helped him change, put an actual bandage on his arm and gave him a tetanus shot in the other one, and promised to call the school and his mom for him. Shortly after, a cop asked him a few questions, before telling Liam there probably wasn’t much they could do, which he figured anyway. Around that time, it was like people figured out the ER was open for business. The chairs in the waiting area not too far from his bed filled up, the never-ending complaints from the would-be patients getting interrupted on a fairly regular basis by more serious cases coming through the doors. Every once in a while, Daniel would catch Liam’s eye as he passed, walking alongside a gurney or wheelchair, and he would shoot him an apologetic smile. Liam couldn’t complain too much. There was something beyond sexy about an attractive man who was good at his job. He knew Daniel wasn’t _really_ trying to show off for him, but watching him maintain calm control as multiple staff members crowded around a trauma patient, watching him console a sobbing child with a broken arm, watching him shock a patient back to a normal heartbeat…all of it was, he was sort of disturbed to admit, arousing. 

At some point, his mom arrived, fussing over him to the point that he sent her off to the cafeteria for a while. And a half hour or so after that, a med student came by and stitched up his arm, slightly disappointing Liam by assuring him that he could go to his regular doctor to get the stitches removed. Another hour passed before a radiology tech came and took him to get pics of his face and head. Finally, finally, things seemed to be calming down. Liam was back in his bed, his mother sitting next to him and reading a magazine. Liam was entirely focused on the front desk, though, which was in his line of sight if he leaned to the side just a bit. Daniel was standing at it, simultaneously filling out some charts, giving instructions to a group of probable med students gathered around him like little ducklings, and sipping from a mug of what Liam assumed was coffee. The nurse from before, Abby, walked up to the desk and handed him a folder. He watched as Daniel pulled out an x-ray and held it up to the ceiling light. 

And then Daniel looked straight at him, making Liam jump slightly. Daniel gave him a smile and a thumbs-up, suggesting at least some good news about his condition. Just when it looked like he was about to walk over and _finally_ talk to him again, though, some EMTs burst through the door with another gurney. 

Liam watched as Daniel listened to them, then turned to the nurse and one of the med students, told them a few things and then followed the new patient. Liam sighed in admittedly selfish disappointment. 

Abby and the med student walked over, making his mom sit up and start paying closer attention. 

“Hello, Mr…Bhatt,” the med student said, glancing at the chart she just picked up. “Good news, your nose is not broken, but you will have some tenderness and probably shiners under both eyes. There’s also no sign of concussion. So, what we’re going to do is give you a prescription for some painkillers and antibiotics, then you’re free to go.”

“But,” Abby said, smiling in a much-too-knowing way, “Daniel says he wants it to be several days before he sees you on the train again. Meaning take it easy.”

Liam nodded, trying not to appear too longing as he glanced in the direction Daniel had disappeared.

“You can, of course, call if you have any questions. Ask for the nurse or _doctor_ on call,” Abby added. 

Liam faced her, exhaling. “Right.” He supposed he couldn’t stay there, tying up a bed and racking up charges longer just in the hopes of seeing Daniel again.

**

“Whoa.”

The quiet comment made Jira look up from her notebook and over at Riley next to her. They were staring at the door to the classroom and Jira followed their eyeline. Mr. Bhatt was walking in, the first time he'd been in for a week. He looked a bit rough, mostly because of the faded bruises under both eyes. Jira had assumed he had the flu or a nasty case of food poisoning or something. Clearly that hadn't been the explanation for his absence.

“You think he was mugged?” Matthew wondered behind them. 

The three of them looked at each other, but were unable to continue gossiping as the bell rang. Mr. Bhatt called the class to order, ignoring some of the bolder students who asked him what happened except to say he was fine. Jira understood not wanting to talk about bad things, though, so she simply picked up her pen and prepared to take notes. 

At the end of class, she gave Mr. Bhatt a supportive smile and followed Riley and Matthew out of the room. Riley turned to face them just as they entered the hallway. 

“Hey, do you want to go with Matthew and me to get something to eat after school today?”

Jira tried not to beam. It was the first invitation she had received to hang out with classmates outside of school. She was kind of thrilled about the prospect of making actual friends. 

“Sure!”

Matthew gave her a thumbs-up. “Cool. Welcome to our club.”

“It’s a really small club,” Riley added with a teasing smirk. 

On the way to her next class, she pulled out her phone to text her dad. They hadn’t actually seen each other that morning, because he agreed to cover part of a shift for a colleague and so left the house around quarter to 5. No way was Jira waking up to say goodbye to him. She figured that, actually, he’d be happy she was going out because neither of them would have to worry about having a family dinner or something that evening and he could just crash instead. 

_Have fun, punchkin_ was his only reply, but it still made Jira smile. She pocketed her phone and continued on to class.


	4. Chapter 4

Liam had a pretty shitty Monday, to be honest. First, although he was feeling a million times better than he had the last several days, he still wasn’t completely healed. It turned out the instructions to take it easy had been absolutely right, and he ended up taking a week off. But that meant he was really far behind in his prep and grading. So, not only was he hurting, he also had a shit-ton of work to catch up on. Not to mention, he had to fend off questions from both students and colleagues all day. 

And fine – perhaps the most frustrating, disappointing part of the day was that Daniel had not been on the train. Liam couldn’t quite convince himself to call the hospital with some made-up question, so it had been several days with no contact whatsoever. Liam understood that he barely knew the guy, and he’d only been aware of him for a week or so before the incident, but…he missed him. 

He was crushing bad. And so, the morning commute was depressing as hell. 

As for the afternoon commute, he didn’t expect much from it either. He never saw Daniel on the way home, and he now realized that was probably because his hospital shifts lasted much longer than Liam stayed at the school. So, he found an open seat a bit further down than his usual one, leaned back and stretched his feet out under the seat in front of him, crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, planning to doze. He never fell asleep, though, so he vaguely knew where they were each time the train slowed to let passengers on and off. At the stop for the hospital, he sensed someone sit next to him, but he didn’t bother opening his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” 

Liam jumped in surprise, opening his eyes and sitting up straight. He grinned at Daniel, even as he reached up to run a hand through his hair. 

“Hi. Good. Hi.”

“Hi,” Daniel replied, chuckling a bit at Liam, but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about his enthusiasm. 

“I just went back to work today. I – was surprised I didn’t see you this morning.”

“Oh, God, I went in at 5. The ER doesn’t stick to regular business hours.”

“Guess not.”

“I’m happy to see you, though,” Daniel said. A second later, he blushed adorably and tried to downplay his comment by tilting his head to look at Liam’s face. “You seem to be healing OK.”

“I am,” Liam agreed, nodding. “I – I had hoped you’d, ah, follow up, though.”

Daniel laughed, looking straight ahead as he reached a hand up to rub at his throat. “I thought about it,” he claimed, tilting his head in Liam’s direction conspiratorially, “but it didn’t seem right to go through your file for your number. Couldn’t quite justify it medically.”

“Hmm.”

Liam held a hand out, palm up. It took Daniel a moment to figure out what he was asking for, and then he quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it and then handed it to Liam. Liam felt very self-conscious and like his fingers were too thick, knowing that Daniel was watching him as he typed his first name and phone number into the contacts. 

Daniel’s expression was heated when Liam handed him back the phone, and he didn’t break eye contact as he slipped it into his shirt pocket. Liam inhaled and exhaled slowly, wondering how long, exactly, Daniel was going to make him wait before calling him up for a date. 

They didn’t say anything for another few moments, not until the train started to pick up speed after pulling away from the latest stop. It was that motion that made Daniel look around and then twist to look back out the window.

“Shit, that was my stop.”

Liam snorted out a laugh, and he lifted a hand to his mouth to try to stifle it. 

“Mine’s the next one. You can get off with me.”

The double entendre didn’t even really occur to him until Daniel turned to face him with a teasing smirk. He thought back over what he just said, and then closed his eyes in embarrassed self-recrimination. 

“Can we still blame that on the head trauma?”

Daniel licked his lips before pressing them together, clearly fighting a laugh. “If you want to,” he finally replied.

Liam looked at him for a moment and then made up his mind. No, he actually didn’t want to pretend he didn’t mean that exactly as it sounded. He wanted to admit to and in fact embrace that Freudian slip. By which he meant embrace Daniel, of course. The train began slowing as it approached his stop, and he stood, nodding to indicate Daniel should disembark with him. 

They were quiet as they crossed the platform and started down the stairs. He could tell Daniel wasn’t quite sure, maybe thought that Liam had been joking, and he glanced over at the stairs that would bring him back up to grab the train going in the other direction. No way was Liam going to let that happen. 

“I’m a couple blocks away,” he observed. “Come have a drink and check on my stitches.”

Daniel didn’t put up any resistance. He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and followed Liam down the street. 

“Um,” he said, somewhat awkwardly, “I often get asked for off-duty medical advice so to clarify…”

Liam glanced over at Daniel and grinned. Despite the question, he could tell Daniel wasn’t really confused by the invitation, more that he was feeling a bit anxious. Liam supposed he couldn’t blame him; this was not typical behavior for him, either, but he had almost no apprehension about bringing Daniel home. 

“To clarify,” Liam replied slowly, clearly, confidently, “I’m bringing you home to play doctor.”

Daniel nodded, laughing shortly and looking at the ground as he continued to follow Liam down the street. Even from a distance, Liam could see the blush deepening on his cheeks.

“Lead the way,” Daniel said.

They arrived only minutes later, and the drink offer was almost immediately forgotten, at least just then. Neither of them apparently needed any liquid courage, as Daniel barely waited for Liam to close and lock the door before he was pushing him up against it and kissing the hell out of him. 

Liam breathed in sharply through his nose, refusing to back away despite the sharp twinge that reminded him he wasn’t quite healed yet. It wasn’t painful enough to stop him, however. He deepened the kiss, lifting one hand to hold it to the back of Daniel’s head and keep him where he was. It was far better than any fantasy he’d indulged in since the first time he spotted Daniel on the train. 

Blindly, they both began stripping clothes off each other. Liam urged him back, away from the door and down the hall. They stumbled but didn’t slow down, and soon enough, they arrived in the bedroom. Liam might have pushed Daniel a little too quickly the last few steps, and he more fell on the bed than he sat on it. Their kiss broke and they both breathed heavily, staring at each other with wild eyes. 

“I don’t – normally do things like this,” Daniel said, looking up at him earnestly. 

Liam breathed out a laugh. “Pick up strangers on the L? Me neither. You seem worth making an exception.”

He had perhaps meant it as a half-joke, but Daniel’s smile was sweetly touched, which only spurred Liam on. He swooped forward and down, placing his hands on Daniel’s cheeks to hold him as he kissed him again. Putting one knee on the mattress, he used the leverage to push Daniel back onto the mattress.

“God,” Daniel murmured, when Liam broke the kiss and moved to nuzzle at his neck. 

Liam smiled, reaching down to fondle Daniel. Neither of them said much of anything for the next few minutes, and things got hotter and more urgent the more clothes were removed. That was when Liam changed position, unfortunately shifting his weight to his injured arm.

He cursed loudly when it gave out on him and he fell, rolling to the side. He slapped his other hand over the bandage, breathing heavily a moment as he waited for the tenderness to subside. 

“Are you – ” 

Daniel’s tone was concerned enough to be worrisome. His brow furrowed as he reached out for Liam’s arm in a not-at-all-sexy sort of way. Unacceptable. Liam wrapped his good arm around Daniel, and hooked his leg over his thighs, using the hold to roll them further until Daniel was on top of him. 

“You can check it later,” he said. “Right now, I want you to fuck me.”

Daniel hesitated for all of a half-second before he gave in. There were thankfully no more interruptions, and Liam was feeling only the absolute best kind of pain by the time he came. Daniel shouted out his own climax right around the same time. It had been a long time since Liam had been with someone, and even longer since he’d been with someone so damn responsive and unafraid to show it quite so loudly. 

ER visit aside, this had been arguably the best week of his adult life. 

They dozed for a while after, and it was obviously much too soon to admit that he enjoyed that – the cuddling, the warmth of Daniel’s body and his slow and steady breaths – as much, if not more, than their earlier activities. He reminded himself to proceed cautiously and not get too far ahead of himself on this. He barely knew the guy. But damn, he wanted to keep getting to know him. For now, he’d just enjoy what he could get. Liam closed his eyes and nuzzled closer, letting himself fall into a deeper sleep. 

He woke up again sometime later when he felt gentle prodding at his arm. With a groan, he rolled to his side and blinked his eyes open. For a brief moment, he smiled broadly at Daniel, who was sitting on the mattress next to him. And then he realized that Daniel had apparently rummaged around his bathroom for his first aid kit, as it was propped up against his thigh. Daniel was carefully peeling the bandage off his arm, the _professional_ expression on his face familiar to Liam from his time in the ER, although it lost some of its power considering Daniel was stark naked. 

Liam burst into laughter, revealing to Daniel that he had woken up. Daniel glanced at him, smiling at Liam’s reaction, before focusing on his task again. Liam submitted to it, watching with amusement as Daniel checked the wound.

“Those stitches can come out in a day or two,” was his only comment, as he started to wrap it back up again. 

“OK,” Liam replied, humoring him. 

“It’s healing nicely. Won’t leave much of a scar.”

“Damn,” Liam joked. “Scars are sexy.”

Daniel smiled softly, leaning over to place the kit on the bedside table. He repositioned himself until he was lying next to Liam again. He propped his head on his hand, reaching his other one out for Liam’s hip. He pulled at him, and Liam went willingly, barely even noticing the pressure on his arm as he rolled to his side and scooched closer until their groins were touching. With just the slightest bit of encouragement, he was pretty sure he’d be ready to go again.

“You’re sexy,” Daniel murmured. “Scar or no scar.”

There it was. Liam wrapped his good arm around Daniel’s head, pulling him in for a heady kiss. He clearly wasn’t the only one ready for round two, either, as Daniel almost immediately reached down to start jacking him. Liam returned the favor, and maybe mutual handjobs didn’t require that much skill or finesse, but they certainly got things done. Too quickly, Liam was shuddering with pleasure, exhaling shakily and grunting into Daniel’s mouth as he came. Daniel followed, whimpering with his eyes squeezed shut. 

After taking a moment to recover, Liam reached his palm up to Daniel’s face again, not really caring that his hand wasn’t exactly clean. Judging by how enthusiastically Daniel returned his kiss, he didn’t really care either. 

“I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I saw you,” he admitted in a whisper, as soon as they broke apart. As nervous as the confession made him, he couldn’t stop himself from saying it.

“Me too,” Daniel confirmed, which made Liam smile in relief. And his next statement made Liam realize he was definitely not the only one feeling rather bowled over by how right this all seemed. “I think,” Daniel said, “there might be – something here.” 

“Mmhmm,” Liam agreed, nodding and grinning. 

“Is that…too much too soon?”

“Mm-mm.”

They made eye contact, smiling rather goofily at each other. Before either of them could speak again, however, Daniel’s gaze slid away, over Liam’s shoulder to the table next to the bed.

“Crap, is that the time?” 

“No,” Liam obviously lied. “That clock’s off by 20 – no, 30 minutes.” He tightened his hold on Daniel, sliding his leg between Daniel’s knees in a protest against any attempt he might make to leave.

“I really have to go,” Daniel said apologetically. 

Liam sighed, nodded and rolled away. He took some comfort from Daniel’s own palpable disappointment. 

“Can I use your bathroom?”

“Yep.”

He climbed out of bed then, grabbing some of his discarded clothes before leaving the room. When he heard the faucet turn on, some part of Liam considered following him in there, to change _cleaning up_ into _round 3_. But honestly, he wasn’t sure he could manage that himself. And as much as he tried to delay the inevitable, he supposed Daniel had to leave eventually. At least this time, he had Liam’s number and Liam had very good reason to believe that he’d use it sooner rather than later. 

Daniel only confirmed that when he returned, his hair damp from a sink-shower and all his clothes unfortunately back on. He sat on the side of the bed, and Liam turned towards him. They stared at each other for a moment, making Liam smile as he thought about how much time they spent just looking at each other. 

“When can I see you again?” Daniel asked softly. 

Liam’s smile was unstoppable, if slightly teasing. “Tomorrow morning on the train,” he reminded Daniel.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I have a work thing tomorrow night,” he answered seriously. “Otherwise, I’m flexible every night this week. I know that’s not playing very hard to get, but I think that ship has sailed.”

With a grin, Daniel leaned forward and pecked his lips. When he sat up again, he responded, “I’ve got a thing tomorrow too. But dinner on Wednesday?”

Liam nodded in agreement. Daniel gave him another smile and stood. As he started to turn around, Liam shook his head, not willing to let him leave without one more real kiss. He sat up quickly, grabbing Daniel’s hand and pulling him back even as he climbed to his knees. Daniel didn’t put up much of a fight, hugging Liam as their mouths met again. 

Several moments later, they finally separated. Daniel rested his forehead against Liam’s for a second.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered.

Then, he pulled away, hurrying out of the room as if it were actually incredibly difficult to do so and he had to force himself. Soon after, Liam heard his apartment door open and close. He fell back onto the mattress, flopping into a somewhat uncomfortable position. 

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself, before breaking into disbelieving laughter. 

He allowed himself a few more minutes of luxuriating and reliving the evening’s activities. Then, he climbed out of bed and went to lock the front door. On his way back, he picked up his jeans from where they had been left in the hallway. He pulled his phone out of the pocket, intending to place an order for delivery – no way he was going to cook dinner – before hopping in the shower himself. 

There was a text message notification on the screen from a number that was not in his contacts. He opened it and grinned as soon as he read it. 

_Is it Wednesday yet?_

He had not been looking forward to chatting with parents all the next night during the welcome-to-the-new-year event. But knowing he had an actual date with Daniel the day after to look forward to…well, it’d be enough incentive to make it through.


	5. Chapter 5

With a grumble, Jira shut off her alarm. She was up way too late the night before, playing around with the surgery simulation app. In a way, it was her dad’s fault. Despite leaving so early in the morning, he got home after her, due to a meeting among the attendings apparently. He crashed almost as soon as he got home, and so didn’t nag her into going to bed at a reasonable hour.

So…all his fault. 

After a quick shower, she made her way downstairs for breakfast. Her dad was already in the kitchen, standing by the sink with his eyes closed as he breathed in the aroma of his coffee. 

“Morning,” she greeted him. 

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Good, you’re up. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

He sounded serious, and the waffles with fresh strawberries he suddenly produced and put in front of her made it even more concerning. He walked around the island and sat on the stool next to her. Jira steeled herself, wondering what was going on. He hadn’t been so anxious to talk to her since he told her – well, not for a long time. 

“So, I – I wanted to tell you that I have dinner plans tomorrow,” he said, the last few words coming out in a rush.

The statement was so incongruously innocent compared to what she had been fearing that Jira almost laughed. She was so relieved, it actually took her a moment to figure out what he was really saying.

“You mean a date?” She had trouble regulating her tone. She hoped it didn’t come out as…surprised? upset?...as she worried it had.

He hesitated a bit, before nodding and admitting it. “I think I – need something like this. Not to replace Dad, but…”

“I understand,” Jira replied, cutting him off. She _did_ understand, and he deserved something nice. It still hurt. “It’s…OK.” 

“It is?”

“Mmhmm,” she replied maybe a little too enthusiastically, nodding expressively. 

They were both quiet for a moment, albeit not necessarily in an uncomfortable way. Jira thought about asking for more details, like who the guy was and how they met, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know yet. If it ever got to the point where her Dad wanted them to meet, then she would ask for more information. But it might not even get there, so why worry about it until she had to? And her dad seemed to agree, since his next question was to thankfully change the subject. 

“Are you supposed to go to this thing tonight?” he asked.

“No, I think it’s just parents. But I’ll meet you there before it starts, if you want help finding the room.”

“’Kay. Then what are your plans?”

Jira shrugged. “Probably just come home. Maybe do something with Riley and Matthew.”

“OK, just let me know. See you around 4 at the school. Have a good day.”

“You too, Dad. Love you.”

He returned the sentiment and left the room, grabbing his bag as he left. Jira looked at her breakfast, not feeling particularly hungry. She pushed it away and sat quietly for a moment, staring down at her lap. Her dad dying had broken both their hearts so badly, before they even learned about why he had been at that stupid bar to begin with, and of course that made it even worse. She could still remember the empty shell her dad had been those horrible weeks after the shooting and really even for several months into their African adventure. She would never wish for him to go back to that kind of pain. Of course, it was only right to move on with their lives. 

Easier said than done.

After a moment, Jira sighed and reached out for the waffles, bringing them closer so she could eat and get ready for school. On the other hand, if she were cool and supportive about this, she’d have earned some leverage if she ever worked up the courage to ask her dad about meeting her mom…

**

While Daniel didn’t put it past the ER to bring down his good mood, there would have to be a lot of literally shitty cases for that to happen. And before he even got there, he’d get to see Liam on the L first. Rather embarrassingly, he actually felt himself getting nervous as he walked to the stop and waited for the train. One would think that wouldn’t happen _after_ he saw the guy naked. It kind of reinforced to him that he wanted so much more than just that.

But _that_ was also a pretty pressing temptation. When Daniel stepped onto the train and saw Liam smiling at him and looking the absolute best he’d ever seen him, like he had _planned_ to be irresistible, he changed directions and forced himself to sit in his usual seat on the opposite side. 

Liam cocked a curious eyebrow at what was admittedly an unexpected move. Daniel winked to show that there was nothing seriously wrong, even as he pulled out his phone. He typed a quick text and sent it. Moments later, he heard the soft buzzing sound of Liam’s phone and watched as he took it out of his bag. He didn’t stop staring at Daniel until the last possible moment. It took him a second to read the message – _Can’t sit next to you. Don’t want to be arrested for public indecency. Damn, you look good._ – and then he laughed, making Daniel smile wider himself.

Liam’s thumbs moved over his screen and several seconds later, a new message appeared on Daniel’s screen. 

_This old thing? Why, I only wear it when I don’t care how I look._

Daniel suppressed a laugh. _I can’t believe you just quoted Wonderful Life at me._

_I can’t believe you recognized it._

_Classic line. Watch it every year._

_Better delivery than the similar joke in Gatsby._

_Wow, you really are a teacher, huh?_

_Guilty. So, where are you taking me for dinner tomorrow?_

_You like Chinese? There’s a place not too far from you. It was my favorite when I used to live in the area._

_I think I know where you mean. Sounds good._

They took a break from texting then, returning to their habit of making eyes at each other across the train. Eventually, it started to slow near the hospital stop and Liam sighed. Daniel gave him a small smile, revealing his own disappointment at how short that ride seemed. Then, he dropped his gaze, starting to gather up his things. 

The train stopped and he stood, shooting Liam one more glance. He was out on the platform when his phone beeped again. He lifted his phone to read the new message.

_Love to watch you leave._

He laughed, turning to look back at Liam through the window as the train pulled away. Liam grinned back at him, lifting his hand in a little wave.

**

After the last class of the day, Liam popped over to the nearby diner that catered to – and employed – the students. Because of that, he typically avoided it, but he didn’t have much time before the welcome event started and he had a feeling the refreshments there were hardly going to be nourishing. On his way back to the school, he was surprised to see Jira sitting at one of the tables outside.

“Hey, you’re still here?”

She looked up from her phone and smiled at him. “Waiting for my dad.”

“He’s coming tonight?”

She nodded. “It’s kind of nice, actually. Before…before Africa, he never really got off for something like this.” 

Liam hesitated, remembering her journal entry. He wondered if he should say anything. On the other hand, in his experience, students often wrote about things that they _wanted_ him to bring up, wanted _someone_ to talk to them about. “Did…your mom do these things before? I’m sorry to hear she isn’t around.”

Jira laughed, surprising him. She put her phone in her backpack and focused her whole attention on him. “She never really was.” 

Liam didn’t know how to respond to that. It was a depressing statement but she seemed more amused than anything else. Then she took pity on him.

“I was adopted as a baby by a gay couple.”

“Oh. Oh!” He furrowed his brow at his own heteronormative assumptions. Hard to avoid them, even when you were often affected by them yourself. 

“You figured Calder was my mother and Brennan was my doctor dad, didn’t you?”

“’Fraid so,” Liam admitted. 

“Most people do,” Jira reassured him. “And actually, he was a doctor too, so that part was right.”

And there was the sadness he’d been expecting. But she didn’t seem to want to shut down the conversation. So, Liam asked, “Was?”

“He died a couple years ago,” she told him, looking down at her hands. “It was kind of why we went to Africa, you know? Getting away. Grieving.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. Did it – did it help?”

“Yeah,” she said, quite convincingly, which made him feel better about inadvertently forcing her into this conversation. “My dad and I are…good now. It had been awful for a while. Do you – do you remember when that drunk cop shot up that bar?”

“Yeah,” Liam said, rather surprised. Without thinking, he added, “That was really close to my apartment.”

Jira looked at him meaningfully for a moment, and he realized he’d accidentally just come out to her. Vanishingly few straight people lived in his neighborhood, after all. But she let it slide as she continued.

“My dad was one of the victims. He – he stopped in for a drink after work and never came home.”

“Crap.” It wasn’t exactly an intelligent or sensitive response but he didn’t really know what else to say. 

“So, it was obviously very sudden and unexpected and traumatic. My dad deals with that kind of thing every day at work, but not in his own life, you know? And it was the worst thing that ever happened to me and probably ever will. But somehow, going to a whole new country, just uprooting everything and doing something good for people who needed it more than we did…I don’t know. It worked.”

Liam nodded, thinking over her comments, even as he stalled by turning to look at the groups of parents entering the school for the welcome event. He realized that he was running out of time, but honestly, he felt like staying here and continuing to talk with her was more important. Not to mention, he’d feel bad about leaving her after dredging this up in the first place. But before he could respond, a voice called out in their direction.

“Hi, punchkin!”

Jira twisted, looking behind her with a smile on her face. “Hi, Dad!”

Liam turned as well, preparing to meet someone he just learned far too many personal things about, without his knowledge or consent. But when he spotted the man in question, every ounce of sense disappeared from his head and his heart went into overdrive. It took all of his power not to start hyperventilating. 

_Fuck._

Daniel seemed equally shocked to see him, nearly tripping over his own feet. He recovered faster than Liam, however, perhaps because it was his daughter who started looking back and forth between them in slight confusion.

**

Jira was curious about the way Mr. Bhatt seemed to be quietly freaking out next to her. She wondered if that was because they had just been talking about her dad and so his appearance made him embarrassed or uncomfortable. Maybe he was afraid her dad had heard them, even though he had clearly been too far away.

But then she noticed her dad was also being kind of weird, so… 

“Dad,” she said a bit slowly, trying to figure it out. “This is Mr. Bhatt.”

Her dad stuck his hand out quickly, and after a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Bhatt reached out and took it. They shook sort of stiffly, hanging on a moment longer than normal but then dropping each other’s hand as if it stung or something. They both stepped farther back but didn’t stop staring at each other. Her dad – OK, seriously, something was up – was blushing.

“English teacher, right?”

“Uh-huh,” Jira said. She gave him one more confused look, then looked over to Mr. Bhatt, who seemed to be struggling with words, something she’d never expect from an English teacher. “This is my dad, Daniel Calder,” she told him. 

“Um, Dr. – Dr. Calder,” he greeted, nodding at him. “Nice to…meet you.”

“Ah, likewise,” her dad replied, shifting his weight and crossing his arms uncomfortably. 

Jira gasped, coughing quickly to cover the noise. She just figured it out. They were _into_ each other. Oh God. She would probably have never even realized it, if she hadn’t _just_ learned that Mr. Bhatt liked men. I mean, she wasn’t completely surprised. She had decent gaydar considering how many LGBT people she knew, after all. She just hadn’t really thought about his personal life or sexuality until he inadvertently mentioned it. 

But they were vibing _hard_. Jira had never seen her dad so speechless. Good thing they had The Talk about him dating again already. She just kind of felt bad for whoever he was supposed to be going out with tomorrow. Not too bad, though, because Mr. Bhatt and her dad would actually be _perfect_ for each other. She’d definitely get comfortable with the whole thing faster if she knew her dad was with someone as nice as Mr. Bhatt. 

She needed to get out of there, so they could totally hit it off without her in the way. She stood up quickly, capturing both of their attentions. She smiled, waving kind of oddly. 

“Well, I’m going to head home,” she said. “I guess you don’t need me to show you the room, since you can just walk in together.”

“OK,” her dad said, nodding like a bobblehead doll. Jira tried not to snicker as she leaned in and gave him a hug.

“Bye, Mr. Bhatt,” she said.

“See you tomorrow, Jira,” he replied, not once dragging his eyes away from her dad to look at her.

**

Daniel turned and watched Jira walk away. Part of him was just waiting for her to get out of earshot, but to be completely honest, the rest of him was taking the opportunity to try to center himself. Finally, he faced Liam again. They stared at each other for a moment, with complete shock rather than the lust they typically barely hid. Before Daniel could find words, though, Liam started laughing. Daniel watched as he buried his face in his hand and his shoulders shook.

His initial reaction was to demand what was so funny about the whole thing, but to be fair, he could easily see the absurd humor as well. He soon was laughing himself, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I probably should have asked what school you taught at.”

“Or mentioned you had a kid?” Liam suggested pointedly, holding up a hand in a _duh_ gesture. 

Daniel shook his head, struggling to defend himself. Unnecessarily, in his opinion. “Not really sure there was a good time to bring that up, considering the – ah – circumstances. That’s really more of a first date conversation.”

Liam tilted his head in acknowledgment. “Fair enough.”

At a burst of laughter from a group conversing near the door, Liam twisted to look and then faced Daniel again. “We probably…should go to this thing.”

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed, nodding. “But at least we don’t have to worry about what we’re going to talk about over dinner tomorrow.”

Liam's expression filled Daniel with dread. He seemed strangely disappointed. “I’m not – ” he began, making Daniel furrow his brow. “I’m not sure it’s appropriate to date a student’s parent.” 

Daniel’s only comfort was that Liam didn’t sound like he was entirely certain about that concern. 

“It’s not really appropriate to date a patient, either,” Daniel pointed out. “Maybe we just say two wrongs make a right here.”

Liam seemed to waver. 

“Look,” Daniel continued, stepping closer to Liam and going in for the kill, as it were. “I want to know you better. I don’t know what this is, but…”

“It’s something.”

“Yeah.”

Liam breathed deeply, his eyes dropping to Daniel’s mouth before meeting his gaze again. Finally, he nodded, and Daniel relaxed. Just when he was hoping Liam would lean in and close the distance between them – and wondering if maybe he should just make the first move himself – Liam shook his head quickly and stepped back.

“We gotta go do this thing.”

Daniel nodded, trying to switch back to parent-at-kid’s-school mode. “Right. Of course.”


	6. Chapter 6

Once they finally entered the school for the welcome event, Liam had made a point of maintaining his distance and professionalism. If nothing else, he wanted to let Daniel see him in his element and demonstrate the same level – if not the same kind – of competence and skill that Liam had been able to observe in the ER. So, he controlled the room (sometimes, parents could be worse than students), talked pedagogy and objectives, answered questions. Hell, he _inspired_. And judging by the way Daniel was looking at him, whenever he risked catching his eye, he inspired more than just thoughts of academic greatness.

Unfortunately, he was bombarded by parents after the formal presentation and could not get away. The fourth or fifth time he sought out Daniel with an apologetic, longing expression, Daniel grudgingly waved at him and disappeared out of the room. Liam sighed, knowing that he did eventually have to get home to Jira but feeling disappointed nonetheless, and then he focused on the parent in front of him again.

When he finally was able to leave, he pulled out his phone to find a text from Daniel. _I wish all my teachers had been like you, and I’m so glad Jira gets to learn from you. See you tomorrow._

Liam smiled at the compliment. He debated his response for a second, and then just gave in to the temptation. _Can’t wait. XOXO_

But it turned out he’d have to wait longer than planned to have a personal conversation with Daniel the next day. Because, when the train doors opened and Liam looked up hopefully, the first person he saw was Jira.

He hid his admittedly selfish disappointment behind a welcoming smile. 

“Hi, Mr. Bhatt!” she said, immediately going to sit in one of the two seats near him. “Can you believe this is the first time we’ve seen each other on here since my first day of school? I almost forgot you rode this train. Dad, over here, look – it’s Mr. Bhatt.”

Daniel gave him a slightly exaggerated nod of greeting and sat next to her. He then looked curiously at Jira. Liam had to admit that she did seem to be acting kind of strangely. He was hardly a Jira expert but she had just said a lot of words very quickly and now she was smiling kind of scarily wide as she looked back and forth between them.

“Good morning, Dr. Calder,” he said, knowing Daniel would pick up the teasing in his too-serious tone and hoping Jira wouldn’t.

“Call me Daniel,” Daniel replied, equally formally. 

“Liam.”

With that, Daniel focused on taking his bag off his shoulder and settling into his seat. He used the movements to hide the eyeroll he sent Liam. It almost made him laugh out loud, so he focused on Jira instead.

“You know, you don’t have to be at school for another hour.”

“Ugh, I know. I’m normally just eating breakfast around this time. I’m meeting Matthew and Riley this morning to work on our history group project.”

“Group project?” Liam said, putting the proper amount of disgust into it. “Who do you have, Jenkins?”

“Yep.”

“My apologies.”

Both Jira and Daniel laughed, clearly surprised. 

“Come on. _Group projects_ ,” Liam joked. “Time for retirement.”

“But at least it’s in history,” Daniel pointed out.

“Dad’s a secret history nerd,” Jira explained, unknowingly making Liam fall that much harder for her dad. “There’s this medical history museum in town that we’ve been to more times than I count.”

“I don’t know if I have ever heard of that museum, and I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Hmm. You should definitely go,” Jira said, in a strange sort of tone that Liam couldn’t quite understand. It almost sounded like she was trying to hint at something. 

Liam glanced at Daniel to see if he noticed, but Daniel was focused on Jira. He seemed a bit confused himself, but Liam also spotted a blush growing on his cheeks. Liam was more than familiar with Daniel’s occasional bashfulness by that point and enjoyed bringing it out, but he couldn’t guess what had caused it this time. No time to figure it out either, because they had arrived at the hospital stop. 

Liam watched as Daniel shook his head, then leaned in and kissed Jira’s temple. “Have fun at school, punchkin.”

“Have fun saving lives,” she replied breezily. 

Daniel turned to Liam then, and Liam struggled to seem like simply a friendly near-stranger as they said their own goodbyes. Daniel stood, headed towards the door, and turned to glance at them as he stepped onto the platform. He shot Liam a quick wink, angled just innocently enough so that Jira could assume it was for her. 

The hours until dinner were going to be some of the longest of his life. 

Liam inhaled and focused on Jira again. “Punchkin?” he asked.

Jira laughed. “He’s always called me that. Don’t ask me why.”

**

“ _That_ inspired your career?”

Liam shrugged, letting go of Daniel’s hand so he could pull open the door to the hole-in-the-wall Chinese shop. It had more “character” than sophistication and so might have seemed a bit unimpressive for a first date. Liam loved it. 

“Mariah Carey is literature’s gateway drug,” he explained.

Daniel nodded, clearly humoring him, so Liam ignored him and stepped to the counter to grab a menu. 

“This is going to be take-out,” he told the employee.

“It is?” Daniel asked, clearly surprised. 

Liam shrugged. “We’re so close to my place. We should just take it back there. It’ll be easier to talk.”

“Talk or _talk_?” Daniel insinuated.

“Shut up.”

“First you want me to talk, now you want me to shut up. You’re sending very mixed signals.”

Liam sighed loudly. “General Tso’s for me.”

Daniel laughed, then leaned past him to place his order, adding some appetizers as well. Several minutes later, the bag of food appeared and Liam grabbed it. He led Daniel out of the restaurant, waiting until they were on the street before speaking again. 

“So how did you end up a doctor instead of a historian?”

“A combination of genuine interest and desire plus some strong parental pressure. It _is_ the family business.”

“Do they live in Chicago?”

“No.”

“That was…succinct.”

Daniel shrugged. “Becoming a doctor was the last or only thing I did right for them. And it certainly didn’t make up for being gay. So, as soon as I finished med school, I moved here – literally here, to the Gayborhood – and started my residency. A couple years later, I met Harrison and we eventually got to make our own family.”

Liam nodded. “Well, you two made a beautiful family.”

There was no response for a while, and Liam glanced at Daniel after the silence went on for longer than he would have expected. Daniel’s expression was – haunted. 

“Sorry, we don’t have to talk about him,” Liam said. 

“No,” Daniel replied, shaking his head and looking at him. “It’s OK.”

Nonetheless, he didn’t say much more for a while. In fact, they made it back to the apartment and Liam unlocked the door, letting Daniel in before closing it behind them again. He pointed Daniel towards the couch while veering off to the kitchen.

“Drink?” he called out, even as he pulled out some real silverware so they didn’t have to deal with easily breakable plastic.

“Whatever you got.”

Liam considered the hard liquor, given the topic of conversation, but ultimately grabbed two beers out of the fridge. Frankly, he wanted to make sure they both stayed sober enough to not ruin the night. OK, so he might have been a little disingenuous, acting all innocent by suggesting they come back to the apartment. 

He returned to the living room and placed the bottles on the coffee table, then handed a fork to Daniel. Daniel twisted towards him, propping one knee on the cushion. He watched as Liam sat down and pulled a take-out box closer. Liam opened it, then immediately handed it to Daniel and reached for the next one. It was all incredibly, wonderfully domestic, but Liam would be enjoying it a lot more than he was if it weren’t for the topic of conversation hanging over their heads.

**

Daniel looked into the container, sticking his fork in and spearing a piece of chicken. It served as a pretty good distraction, actually, but he knew he’d have to restart the conversation soon enough. Obviously, he and Liam would have needed to talk about this eventually, so…no time like the present.

“It sounds like Jira has mentioned some things,” he began, his voice a bit creaky. He took a bite to prevent himself from talking more than necessary.

Liam nodded. “Mostly, just that he was in that bar shooting, and your time in Africa was…cathartic.”

Daniel tilted his head in agreement. “I – I wasn’t in the ER when they brought in the victims, thank God. I was at home with Jira. When the phone rang, I assumed they were actually calling me in. There had been so many injuries. But – it was actually my boss. She was the one who told me.”

“That must have been…I don’t even know.”

Daniel laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. The funny thing is I thought he was actually at the hospital working. That’s what he told me anyway. It turned out he…had a bartender. Hell of a way to discover that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Daniel said, aiming for a joke. He glanced up at Liam, smiling softly. “Not your fault.”

“I know,” Liam replied. “I just…”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks. Sorry, I don’t have a lot of experience talking about this with someone I’m…interested in.”

There was a long silence. As much as the memories still hurt, they were also something he could honestly say no longer consumed him. He wondered what Liam was thinking about it all. He supposed Liam’s next comment was fair, actually. 

“I don’t…want to be a rebound,” he finally said, hesitantly.

“You’re not,” Daniel said quickly, as reassuringly as he could. He shook his head. “Trust me, you’re not. I’m _good_. I’m ready for something new, something real. I want to figure out what this is between us.”

Liam sighed, relaxing with a smile. He nodded in agreement. “OK.”

The conversation meandered a bit after that, focusing on lighter and easier topics although not shying away from more personal things when they came up. They finished eating but continued to nurse their drinks. Liam very subtly shifted closer, and Daniel pretended he didn’t notice, even as he let himself “subconsciously” touch Liam’s arm, his hand, his knee and everywhere just platonic enough. At the same time, he was not particularly keen to shift to less innocent contact, at least not yet. For all they both said they wanted _more_ , their relationship to date had been pretty focused on the physical. It was actually something of a relief to discover, as they got to know each other better, that they did in fact have a great deal in common but also enough differences to be interesting. He found Liam fascinating and funny and smart and sweet, and it sort of surprised him when he caught a glimpse of his watch and realized they’d been talking for hours. It was more surprising when he realized that he could have kept talking for several more without getting tired or bored. 

But it was getting late. The sun had set fully and it was quite dark in the room. Liam must have agreed because he unexpectedly leaned over to put his empty beer bottle on the coffee table and stood up. He didn’t go far, only to the corner of the room to turn on a lamp. While he was up, Daniel put his own bottle aside and shifted in his seat, rubbing his hands across his thighs, feeling nervous.

Liam returned to the couch, sitting down again so close he was practically on Daniel’s lap. 

“You don’t have to go yet, do you?”

“No,” Daniel answered, smiling softly. 

“Jira’s not expecting you?”

Daniel shrugged, shaking his head. “Probably enjoying having the house to herself.” 

“Good,” Liam said, leaning against the back of the couch, one shoulder more on Daniel’s chest than the cushion. 

Daniel readjusted his position so he could put his arm around Liam. He looked down at him, and Liam tilted his own head to make eye contact. Daniel leaned closer and they shared a simple, brief kiss. It was tempting and promising, but chaste enough to reinforce that there was no need to rush for more just yet. Liam settled back again, resting his hand on Daniel’s thigh, and Daniel started stroking his fingers over Liam’s shoulder.

“She’s a great kid,” Liam observed, falling back to the topic of Jira. “You lucked out with her.”

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed, smiling. “We did.”

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like trying to adopt as a gay couple 17, 18 years ago.”

Daniel scoffed, his fingers stilling. “We didn’t. We couldn’t. Harrison adopted first, and I adopted later. And the legal aspects were just part of it. We actually got chosen by a birth mother a year and a half before that, had everything ready. She lived in Portland and we flew all night to get there when she went into labor. The mother had changed her mind by the time we arrived and decided to keep the baby.”

“Oof,” Liam replied sympathetically.

“Seven months after that, the next baby was stillborn. Almost full-term. The poor woman still had to deliver the fetus. We stayed in there with her through it. She didn’t have anyone else.”

“That’s terrible.”

Daniel nodded, swallowing as he remembered the grief and the horror of the whole situation. Even years later, he’d occasionally remember that lost child, all the potential it had, how much they had hoped and dreamed and planned. He didn’t know what he would have done if it hadn’t been for the fact that, only a few months later, there had been another call from the adoption agency. 

“And then, finally, there was Jira. Who was perfect.”

“What was her mother like?” Liam asked. 

Daniel shrugged. “No idea. I decided not to meet her, so Harrison dealt with it entirely. I didn’t think I could handle it if it fell through again. I think we had Jira for a whole month before I was able to breathe freely.”

Liam smiled quickly, the expression dropping off his face almost immediately. “So Jira doesn’t know anything about her either?”

“No,” Daniel confirmed, shaking his head. “I don’t think she even cares to.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Liam responded, somewhat hesitantly. At Daniel’s curious look, Liam sighed and sat up again, turning to face him. “I shouldn’t say this, and I’ll deny it if you ever tell her, but – I make them journal and…she’s written that she wants to know more.”

“Oh.”

Daniel looked down at his lap, trying to hide his reaction. He couldn’t quite put into words what that made him feel. Jealous, certainly. Afraid. Hurt. Not to mention guilty for all those other feelings, when he should really be a better person than to make it all about him. 

“It makes sense, I guess. Her wanting to know more or find something she’s missing. Especially with Harrison gone. They were always so close. I – I wasn’t the best father I could have been, not like I wished I had been, anyway. I work too much, all hours of the day and night. I missed so many big and little things. I – ”

Daniel shrugged, cutting himself off when he realized he was babbling. He felt Liam’s gaze on him but couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes. 

“She’s written about you, too,” Liam said softly. “And I’ve heard how she talks about you, and I’ve seen her light up around you. I could tell immediately how much you two love and adore each other. So, I don’t think you should worry about any of that too much.”

Daniel smiled weakly. “I’ve been trying harder. In Africa and since we got back. I mean, my shifts still suck but she’s my priority and I try to prove that to her every day.”

When he looked at Liam again, the expression on his face was – well. Daniel must have said something right. Liam breathed in, then let it out slowly, then finally spoke.

“Any chance I could earn the third spot on that priority list?”

Daniel chuckled, shaking his head. The heaviness of their recent topic of conversation was rapidly clearing, and Daniel acknowledged that just because he was happy to have learned they had more going for them than just scorching hot physical chemistry, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to enjoy _that_ aspect of their new relationship too. 

“Play your cards right,” Daniel responded, giving his tone just the right amount of flirtation. “I might even bump you up to second.”

“Wow, you mean it?” Liam smiled, even as he faced Daniel more fully. He grabbed Daniel’s collar and pulled him closer. “Kiss me. Stat.”

“We don’t really say that.”

“Is that the part you’re going to focus on?” 

Daniel shook his head, moving to close the distance between them. Liam grinned, lowering to his back and guiding Daniel down and on top of him. Just as Liam’s back hit the cushion, their mouths came together.


	7. Chapter 7

They had barely begun kissing before Daniel was sitting up again. Liam protested, making it difficult for him until he realized Daniel was simply stripping his sweater off, removing the t-shirt underneath with it. Liam exhaled appreciatively, giving up on trying to pull him back down and instead moving his hands to the fastenings of Daniel’s pants. Daniel grinned, exhaling a laugh as he started working on Liam’s own jeans. As soon as they were both undressed enough – unzipped flaps pushed far apart and underwear tugged out of the way – Daniel lowered down again. He kissed Liam soundly, moaning into his mouth as he lined them up perfectly and began to move his hips.

Liam hissed in pleasure, enjoying the slow and sensuous slide of skin. Their first evening together had been fantastic, but it had been rushed due to the passion and lust that had been building between them for days and finally released. Even the handjobs later were more about getting each other off hot and quick. If Liam were honest, perhaps some little part of him was worried at the time that it was essentially a one-night stand and he just wanted it to be as memorable as possible. But now that he knew that Daniel was as _keen_ on actually pursuing a relationship as he himself was…well, he was more than happy to slow things down and really, fully experience them. 

He moved one hand to Daniel’s ass, squeezing the muscle there and pulling him even closer, being careful not to accidentally hint at a faster pace. Daniel broke their kiss with a shudder, tilting his head to nip at Liam’s jaw and then suck at his neck. Liam half-hoped he’d give him a hickey, some kind of mark to claim possession and remind him, when he looked in the mirror, how much Daniel wanted him. 

But too soon, Daniel moved on from the spot, propping himself up. He rested his hand on Liam’s sternum, his thumb pressing just a bit too hard against the notch in his throat to be completely comfortable. Liam swallowed, and the bob of his Adam’s apple must have been enough to spur Daniel on again. He lowered his fingers to the top button of Liam’s shirt, unhooking it deftly and continuing to the next one. As soon as the shirt was fully open, he pushed the sides away with the clear intention of revealing Liam’s chest. 

“Ah ah ah!” Liam exclaimed at the sharp sting of Daniel’s watch catching on some hairs near his nipple.

“What?” Daniel asked, clearly alarmed. He backed away, unintentionally pulling out a few more strands and making Liam wince. 

“Your watch.”

He looked at it, confused for a moment until he figured it out. With a quick apology, he pulled it off his wrist and tossed it towards the coffee table where it landed with a thunk.

“It’s OK,” Liam said, shaking his head and pulling Daniel closer again. “Sort of felt good in a way.”

Daniel chuckled, shifting his weight to reach up and run his hand through Liam’s hair. “Starting to suspect you have a bit of a kinky submissive side to you.”

Liam hummed, raising an overly innocent eyebrow. “No comment.”

Daniel laughed and kissed him again, finally resuming the motion of his hips as well. It was maybe a little faster than before, a little more urgent, but still good. Very good. Liam wrapped his arms around Daniel tighter, smiling enough to make it hard for their lips to truly connect. Daniel licked into his mouth, forcing a real kiss.

**

Eventually they finished, after hanging onto the slow lazy pace just long enough to get frustrated before rushing to finish. They had found some unused napkins among the debris of their dinner, which meant they could clean up sufficiently without actually getting up. And now, they were just stretched out on the couch, holding each other. Daniel had scooched down slightly, low enough to rest on Liam’s chest. Liam turned into him, his lips pressing against Daniel’s head so he could feel the semi-kisses whenever Liam talked or smiled.

They didn’t say much for a while, until finally Daniel sighed. “I’m really fucking into you,” he observed. 

Liam grinned, not particularly wanting to mock the sentiment but finding the opportunity too good to pass up. “I’m really into fu – ”

“Stop,” Daniel cut him off, laughing. “Don’t. I’m being serious.”

“Mm, I’m beginning to figure that out.”

Daniel twisted to look up at him, shooting him an eyeroll in half-assed annoyance. 

“And, ah,” Liam added, feeling weirdly nervous about it, “likewise.”

Daniel’s expression shifted to something softer, more romantic. Liam blinked slowly, smiling back. They shared eye contact for another moment or two and then Daniel returned to his earlier position. Liam inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of drying sweat and traces of long-faded shampoo in Daniel’s hair. He pressed his lips into a firmer kiss against the top of his head, then sighed. Daniel started tracing patterns on Liam’s chest with two fingers; Liam closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation and fighting sleep. 

Daniel’s next statement, however, woke him up completely. 

“I want to tell Jira about us.”

Liam hesitated, more out of concern than objection. Judging by Daniel’s sort of scared, sort of defiant tone, he knew he’d have to tread lightly. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

Daniel shook his head. “If she didn’t know you, I would agree. But if we wait too long, she’ll feel – I don’t know. Foolish, or something. If this…develops how I hope it will, I don’t want it to seem like I lied to her.” After a pause, he added, “I mean, maybe a little white lie, because I’ll probably let her think we hit it off at the school thing.”

Liam grinned at the ceiling. “Don’t want to tell her you hooked up with a stranger on the L? Or a patient?”

His teasing had the intended effect and Daniel relaxed. “No,” he stated emphatically. 

“OK,” Liam agreed. 

Daniel nodded, sliding his palm along Liam’s chest to his side, in something that might have been a hug. 

“I’m not rushing you two to be anything but student and teacher,” he clarified. 

Liam smiled briefly, appreciating the gesture. He liked Jira and he hoped she wouldn’t be too opposed to him being with her dad, but he knew they had a lot to figure out and a lot to build together, before he could even really think about…step-parenting. That didn’t mean he would avoid her, of course. Not least because he knew Daniel and Jira were a package deal. 

“When are you going to tell her?” he asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Soon. Tomorrow after school, maybe.”

“Well, just let me know. I don’t want to say anything if you haven’t. And I don’t want to be caught off-guard if she tries to talk to me about it, either.”

“You’re really OK with me telling her?” 

“If this develops how _I_ hope it will,” he replied, trying not to smile when he felt Daniel’s breath catch at the implication, “I’m going to be in both your lives for a long time. So…we’ll figure it out.”

Daniel’s only response was to twist upwards, catching Liam in an unexpectedly passionate kiss. Liam breathed in sharply through his nose, returning it as best as he could. But only moments later, he pushed Daniel away again. 

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he pretended to scold.

“Oh, I could finish,” Daniel replied, level of innuendo through the roof.

Liam groaned in frustration, tempted to take him up on the challenge. But it was so late, and he knew that Daniel, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it, needed to get home. He didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot by keeping Daniel away from his daughter too much. 

“You probably have to…”

Daniel dropped his head. After a moment, he nodded and pushed himself up and away from Liam, sitting up fully. It took him a couple minutes to get himself together, but soon he was dressed again. Liam sighed and sat up himself, walking with him to the front door of the apartment. They kissed again, reluctant to say goodnight. After they separated, Daniel even rested his forehead against Liam’s.

“See you tomorrow morning?” he asked wistfully.

“Yes,” Liam promised. Then he remembered and shook his head. “No!”

Daniel pulled away to look at him curiously. 

“I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning,” Liam explained. He lifted his arm. “These stupid stitches.”

“Right. OK. Friday?”

Liam nodded. “I will see you Friday.”

“Good night,” Daniel said, darting forward to kiss him one last time. 

He turned, opened the door, and walked out. Liam closed the door behind him, stepping forward to lean against it. His smile grew, and eventually he pushed away. He walked back into the living room, planning to clean it as quickly as possible so he could go to sleep.

**

Jira watched her dad curiously. Actually, suspiciously might be a more accurate description. He had been…weird…for several days now, but that evening took the cake.

Literally, he made a cake. 

It was nowhere near either of their birthdays, but when he brought that out for dessert after serving her favorite food as dinner, she knew something was _up_. 

“So,” he said, his own slice of cake uneaten in front of him, “do you have any plans this weekend?” 

“Riley and Matthew were talking about going to a movie on Saturday. Otherwise, just homework.”

“Maybe we can do something on Sunday?”

“Sure.”

He nodded, looking down at the table. His arms were crossed on top of it, and he was leaning towards her, rather stiffly. 

“Good, because I might have plans on Saturday too.”

Oh. So, that’s what this was about. Again. Jira thought they covered this already. She told him she was fine with him dating, and pretty much actually meant it, so she didn’t know why it suddenly seemed like they were back to the beginning on the topic.

“Going out with that guy again?” she prompted, trying to sound supportive and unconcerned. 

“Um…no. No, it’s someone else.”

Jira raised an eyebrow, the surprise of that enough to make her disregard the weird feeling she had that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. “Dates with two different guys in one week?” she teased. “Dad, you slut.”

“Ha ha.”

“So, who’s this one?” she asked, taking a bite of her cake to hide her smile. 

“Um…um, your teacher. Mr. Bhatt.”

Jira choked on crumbs and spent the next several seconds coughing while her Dad patted her back and encouraged her to drink some milk. Once she calmed, she looked at him again. The expression on his face was adorably apprehensive, and she just started laughing.

**

Daniel bounced on his feet, waiting for the train doors to open. He’d already seen Liam through the window, and even better, he’d already seen the empty seat next to him. As soon as he could, he squeezed through the gap in the doors and made a beeline straight for the chair.

“Good morning,” Liam greeted him, clearly amused by Daniel’s haste. 

Daniel leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth, and the unexpected PDA made Liam speechless. Daniel had to admit that made him feel a little smug, but he had other things to focus on. 

“Hi,” Daniel said. “I told her.”

Liam nodded, his expression turning a bit anxious. “And?”

Daniel grinned, and even more so when Liam relaxed upon seeing it. “And…she’s taking credit for introducing us.” Liam chuckled, but Daniel ignored it and continued talking. “Apparently she’s been scheming how to get us together since realizing you were gay.”

Liam tilted his head back and laughed out loud. “Yeah, I figured she caught that slip.” At Daniel’s curious look, Liam shook his head. “I’ll explain some other time. Tell me more.”

Daniel sighed. “She’s also using it against me a bit. If I get to form new relationships, then so should she. Quid pro quo or something.”

“Her mother?”

“Yeah. So, I guess thanks for the heads-up on that.”

“Remember I’ll deny everything if you tell her I told you.”

“I know,” Daniel confirmed, smiling slightly.

“So, did you agree?”

Daniel nodded, turning to look out the window for a moment. “Those are our Sunday plans. We’re going to investigate the process for making contact.”

Because he wasn’t looking, Daniel was a bit surprised when Liam’s hand covered his and squeezed. He turned his own hand over so they could interlock fingers, and then he looked at Liam again. 

“I’m free all day tomorrow, though.”

Liam smirked, nodding in understanding. In fairness, it wasn’t exactly subtle.

**

Liam had been in an extraordinarily good mood all morning. Well, for a week or two actually, but especially that morning. First, Daniel had kissed him on the train. Liam didn’t _need_ PDA but he didn’t _hate_ it, either, so he usually just took the cues of the guy he was seeing. And Daniel gave him a pretty big cue that morning.

Second, they had tentative plans to get together again the next day. That meant their first three dates – well, two dates and one sex romp – were all happening within one week. The funny thing was it didn’t feel like they were rushing things. Certainly, Liam expected some obnoxious comments about moving too fast when he finally got a chance to tell his friends about Daniel. In the past, he would probably have agreed that it was important not to mistake the honeymoon phase for real feelings, that love was based on time and actual knowledge about the person and seeing each other at your best and worst. While he still felt that was ultimately true – he wasn’t about to tell Daniel he loved him, for example, or start packing up so they could move in together – he was beginning to suspect that sometimes when you met the right person, you just _knew_. And if that was the case, why wait? Why put up arbitrary roadblocks so your relationship progressed at some socially acceptable speed? 

And the final reason for his good mood that morning was knowing Jira had learned about them and hadn’t objected. A tiny part of him was concerned she was just pretending about that so her dad didn’t feel bad. But mostly, he was just relieved. On the other hand, as it got closer to the start of the school day, he was getting more and more nervous. Would she say something to him? Should he say something to her? He dealt with teenagers almost every day of his life, but he suddenly felt like he had no idea how to talk to one. 

Liam stood in the center of his classroom, pausing in his activity of placing handouts on the desks. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. He’d just…take his cues from her. With a nod, he moved again. 

A few minutes later, he could hear students in the hall, indicating they’d been let in and the first few were through the metal detectors. He wondered how long it would be before – 

“Good morning, Mr. Bhatt!” Jira greeted him, sing-song.

He turned to look at her, taking in her smugness. She must have booked it straight to the room to beat everyone else. Liam smiled, feeling uncomfortable enough to reach up and scratch his thumbnail over his eyebrow.

“Hi, Jira, how are you?”

“Good,” she replied, stretching the word out. She walked over and placed her backpack down on her desk chair. “So. Any exciting weekend plans?”

He looked at her, inhaling but unable to come up with a response. She stared back, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with a look that reminded him so much of her dad, it was uncanny. Before he could finally think of something to say, other students thankfully entered the room and he was saved. Jira smirked and sat down. 

She was less amused, less teasing, when she sought him out on the train that afternoon. For a moment after she sat down next to him, she struggled with what she wanted to say. Liam waited, not wanting to push her. His heart beat a little faster out of concern that this was when she was going to reveal that she didn’t – 

“Please,” she said suddenly, her voice catching a bit. She took a breath and exhaled it shakily, then seemed to steel herself. “Please don’t hurt my dad.”

Liam looked down at his lap. He stretched the fingers of one hand out as he thought about how best to respond. Hurting Daniel or Jira was the last thing he wanted, but he was wise enough to know that didn’t mean it couldn’t still happen anyway. Finally, he looked up at her again. 

“I can’t promise you we’ll live happily ever after. But I can promise that I will treat him and you with care and respect, no matter what.”

Jira took that in, finally closing her eyes and nodding once. She blinked her eyes open again, and Liam realized they were wet with unshed tears. “OK,” she said, her voice emotional. 

Liam smiled supportively, unsure how to proceed. Once again, he let Jira guide them. After a moment or two, she took a deep breath and, with some effort, smiled widely at him. 

“So, what’s the plan for this date? I can tell you all my dad’s likes and dislikes, if you want to run ideas past me?”

Liam opened his mouth, amused by her sudden attitude shift. With a tiny nod and scrunch of his nose, he simply replied, “I think we’ll figure that out between the two of us, thanks.”

“Whatever. Pass up a golden resource, I guess.”

He laughed, but then changed the subject. They spent the rest of the ride until her stop talking about neutral topics such as movies they wanted to see. Jira waved goodbye cheerfully as she stepped off the train, and Liam breathed a sigh of relief. He was pretty sure they were going to be OK, but he reminded himself that he was much more adamant about taking time and caution when building their relationship than he was about his relationship with her father. 

And speaking of her father, Liam felt a little flutter of butterflies when – an hour or so later, after he finished his dinner and was searching his Netflix list for something to watch – his phone buzzed and he saw Daniel’s name on the screen. He rested the remote on his stomach and picked up his phone to open the message.

_How was your day?_

_Great. Had a good talk with one of my students. Haven’t done much since getting home except hope for a text from my boyfriend._

Liam hesitated, reading through the message again and letting his gaze linger on the last word. Finally, he worked up the courage and hit send. 

Daniel’s reply was short and sweet, consisting of _Boyfriend?_ and three heart-eyed emojis in a row. Liam laughed, even as he sat up and repositioned himself on the couch. He opened the emoji menu and selected the eggplant, which simply earned the crying-with-laughter face back.

 _If you’re angling for a dick pic_ , Daniel sent moments later, _you’re out of luck._

Liam cracked up. Then, deciding he wanted to hear Daniel’s voice, he pressed the call button instead. Daniel picked up just after the first ring.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Liam replied, his voice as soft and affectionate as Daniel’s greeting had been. 

“What do you want to do tomorrow?”

“See you. Otherwise, no preferences.”

Daniel paused for a beat, then asked, “How do you feel about medical history museums?”

Liam burst into laughter, burying his face in his free hand. OK, so, he might end up telling Daniel he loved him pretty damn soon, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's another one done. I have a WIP that I won't be able to start posting for a while, then an idea for another one. Nothing else planned after that. (See A/N on my previous fic if you hope for that to change.)


End file.
